On Sunday, McMillen — a Rhodes Scholar who went on to play in the NBA and serve in the U.S. House of Representatives — will be among the new inductees into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Mo.

"I'm really proud of him," said Driesell. "Tom said he wanted to be a Rhodes scholar and an All-American basketball player. I said, ‘Tom, you can't do both.' And he did. He should have been there [in the Hall of Fame] a long time ago."

McMillen, now 61, helped lead Maryland to a 73-17 record. He was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic team that lost to the Soviet Union in the gold-medal game with a memorably controversial finish.

“I’ve been trying to get him in there for years,” Driesell said. “Hey, how many Rhodes Scholars they got here?”

Before McMillen? Just one: three-time all-American, NBA star and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.

Driesell has another connection in the class of 2013, too. George Raveling, the first assistant coach hire he made upon arriving in College Park, will also be inducted as a “contributor,” for his work as Nike’s director of international basketball.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The University of Maryland has hired former Terp Juan Dixon (1998-2002) as a special assistant for the men's basketball team, coinciding with the resignation of assistant coach Dalonte Hill. Current Director of Basketball Operations, Dustin Clark, will formally assume Hill's assistant coach position (Clark has been doing that job since October anyway). Here's the school's press release, though I haven't been able to read it since the news seems to have swamped their server this afternoon.

And in a semi-related move, legendary Terrapins guard Juan Dixon has been hired as a special assistant to Coach Mark Turgeon. The program’s all-time leading scorer will primarily serve as a mentor to the team’s players, advising current players on athletics and academics, breaking down film and scouting future opponents, and other administrative duties. He cannot recruit on the road, but can meet recruits who visit campus. [...]

Dixon also returned to school at Maryland to obtain his undergraduate degree in family sciences and, according to another individual with knowledge of the situation, his hiring was conditional on its completion. He is currently on course to graduate, and this move marks the first step in Dixon pursuing a coaching career, with the hopes of eventually advancing up the ranks.

In a subsequent teleconference, Dixon said he has been talking to Turgeon for "a couple months" about joining the staff, and he has thought about coaching for a long time.

"As far as coaching, this process began many years ago while playing," Dixon said. "When I was even here at the University of Maryland with coach [Gary] Williams and moving on to the NBA, I realized that after my basketball career I wanted to be a coach someday. Today, Coach Turgeon has given me an opportunity to be part of his staff, and I am grateful for the opportunity.